What Is Your Home Rocklin REALLY Worth?
The Hard Reality of Home Selling
In today’s market, and most markets for that matter, buyers know what they’re looking at. If a home doesn’t seem like a value buyers will assume you’re not really interested in selling. Listing agents should tell you this upfront and if they don’t, you need a new agent.
Recently, I took a listing for a friend who wanted to buy the one home they knew had the upgrades they wanted BUT they had to sell their home first. In our initial meeting, I advised a listing price about $10K lower than where they wanted to be. They asked if I would list it higher to try and get it. I agreed.
The result? Not one showing. None.
About a week later, we lowered the price $15K to about where it should have been and we got showings immediately, the same day in fact.
If a home is priced too high and not reduced quickly, the perception of the market will be that there is something wrong with the home because it hasn’t sold. That perception will force the seller, if they truly want to sell, to come down below where they would have had to if they had just priced the house correctly to begin with.
Weaker agents will let a seller do this. Strong agents will be very clear with their clients encouraging them not to price it high to begin with and if they do, have an agreement in place to lower the price to where it should be after 10 days to 2 weeks of market time if the home hasn’t sold.
What any home is really worth is completely dependent on the market for homes similar to it within a close proximity adjusted for condition, amenities and location. Nothing else matters.
Basic Listing Price Fundamental
When I take a listing, I do as much homework around the area of the home I’m listing as possible. Generally, I know the area pretty well but it’s
always beneficial to be thorough.
My job in advising a client about the initial listing price of their home is to make sure that I’m not quoting a price that is too high. Pricing a home too high is an invitation for disaster however pricing low is not. That said, there is a balance.
Recently, I was doing some research for a home I just listed in Whitney Oaks in Rocklin. In doing so, I spoke to an agent who lives either in or very near the home I listed. He had a home listed in this community and it hadn’t sold. I asked him what were his thoughts about why it hadn’t sold.
After two price reductions, to the tune of $24,000, he tells me that regardless of the fact that the home hadn’t sold it’s really worth $15K more than the price they reduced to. Keep in mind, very little activity as far as showings are concerned and no offers even at the reduced price. This is a money losing mindset.
I’ve had sellers tell me that but it’s much more rare to hear that from an agent. The basic initial listing price fundamental, in my mind, is start lower than higher. You’ve got to get people through the door and they will not come if the house doesn’t look like a value. The agent I referenced above isn’t getting any showings and has no offers at the reduced price either. How can the house get sold if no one is coming to see it?
It’s an easy formula. Price it right, get butts through the door and hopefully drive the price up. Why on earth would you want to reduce your listing price? I wouldn’t that’s for sure.
Have questions about how to get the most money from the sale of your home? Give me a call and let’s talk about it.
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I can sell your home in 30 days or less for top dollar. Please call or text me directly at 916-532-7653 or click here, for my contact page and let’s talk about how I can help you.
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